Bank Foreclosure Listings Slow in Sarasota as Banks Wait

Bank foreclosure listings have been slowing in Sarasota County, Florida as banks delay foreclosure proceedings and postpone releasing foreclosure properties to the market.

During the first 2 weeks of October, the number of foreclosed
properties sold by banks was only 54, a drop of 42 percent from the 93
units sold off during the same two weeks last year. The level of losses
suffered by banks from the discounted foreclosure sales was also higher
this year than in 2008. In 2009, banks lost nearly 61 percent from the
foreclosure sales, a big rise from the 48-percent level of loss they
suffered in 2008.

Because of these rising levels of losses, banks have been holding off
on foreclosures and have been regulating the flow of foreclosure
properties into the market.

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According to Margaret Amador who works for Allison James Estates,
banks have been delaying foreclosure actions on houses to cut costs.
Banks know that they have to pay taxes and insurance premiums and have
to maintain the properties once they seize defaulting properties.

So when banks do seize properties, according to Amador, they want to
sell quickly to eliminate maintenance and other costs. In 2008,
properties in bank foreclosure listings took around 4 months to sell.
This year, banks only took less than a month to sell their foreclosure
homes.

In the first 2 weeks of October, the median sales price for
bank-repossessed homes was $81,000, a substantial drop of 30 percent
from the $115,000 price median during the same two-week period last
year. According to Amador, banks keep reducing prices so homes do not
stay for a very long time on the market.

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Banks have also been discounting their prices for higher-end
properties, but not as much as their discounts for lower-cost
properties. This year, banks reduced their prices for lower-cost
properties by 62 percent and discounted prices for higher-end
properties by 55 percent.

Last year, they discounted expensive homes by 54 percent while discounting lower-cost homes by 39 percent.

The bank which had the most number of bank-owned homes sold during the first 2 weeks of October in Sarasota this year and last year was Deutsche Bank. For the first 2 weeks this year, Deutsche Bank sold 17 percent of its repossessed properties.

Next to Deutsche Bank was USBank, which sold ten properties from its
bank foreclosure listings during the first 2 weeks of October last year
and six properties during the same two-week period this year.